Neoliberal reframing of user representation in Norway

Skjefstad, Nina Schiøll

doi:10.4324/9781315111834-8

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Guldvik et al, 2013) and to some degree in social services studies (e.g. Andreassen, 2009;Backe-Hansen, 2001;Kojan et al, 2018). However, in the field of substance use, not only has the assumption been that every representative can make a positive contribution to the issue at hand, but a discussion of representativeness and diversity of experience needs a push.…”

Section: Theorizing Representation and Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others described him in more negative terms as an opportunist who capitalized on hisaccording to them-brief experience with illegal drugs. Some called him a "careerist" trapped in system thinking (and therefore attractive to the authorities), and they emphasized the dangers of professionalization of user representatives and of becoming a professional user or, as termed in literature, an entrepreneurial subject (Andreassen, 2009;Kojan et al, 2018). In other words, reactions toward this representative illustrated the ongoing competition on the "market of user representation" (Kojan et al, 2018, p. 94) penetrated by the cultural longing of authenticity (see Fillitz & Saris, 2013) both on the individual and collective levels.…”

Section: User Representatives In Drug Policy Reform and The Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Guldvik et al, 2013;Pantoja & Segura, 2003); however, with the current political, clinical and scholarly adoration of the "user voice" in Norway, we must ask not if, but whose voice is heard through descriptive representatives, which is the favored means to provide institutional involvement of "users" in Norwegian social and health care arenas (e.g. Kojan et al, 2018;Backe-Hansen, 2001).…”

Section: Descriptive Representation and Experiential "Enoughness"mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

Bartoszko

2021

Contemporary Drug Problems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Until recently, Norway remained immovable on its conservative policy that illegal drug use is a crime. In 2018, the Health Minister appointed an inquiry commission to design a less restrictive drug policy, which included two “drug user representatives.” But the Minister’s choices for these posts met massive dissatisfaction from some drug users who contended that the representatives “are not real drug users” and do not “speak for” nor “act on the behalf” of their experiences and opinions. They mobilized to establish an alternative organization, the Shadow Committee, to propose a drug policy reform shaped by “the user voices” and “not polluted by political compromises.” Yet, while performing a labor of difference, this committee, too, became caught in conflicting landscapes of representation with some members contesting strategic solidarity. Based on this case, and an ethnographic fieldwork among the protesters, this article investigates the concept of representation as understood, contested and applied by “drug users.” Exploring how they relate to “user voices” and question the authenticity of some of “user representatives,” I highlight how changing political landscapes affect understandings of representation and shape political, individual and collective forms of involvement. I draw on Pitkin’s political philosophy and apply the classical categorization of political representation to suggest reconsidering the governing assumptions regarding “user representatives” that increasingly inform drug and treatment policies in Norway. I ask if the concept of representation itself may be a barrier to meaningful involvement.

show abstract

Section: Theorizing Representation and Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: User Representatives In Drug Policy Reform and The Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Descriptive Representation and Experiential "Enoughness"mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

Bartoszko

2021

Contemporary Drug Problems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the same time, social work is being transformed by marketisation, managerialism (Ferguson, 2017), evidence-based practice, and New Public Management (Herz & Lalander, 2018;Kus, 2006;Wallace & Pease, 2011). Social work becomes vulnerable to co-optation for political aims that may disfavour the interests of marginalised groups in social welfare and public health regimes and therefore puts a constraint on a social worker's ability to provide ethically sound services (Kojan et al, 2018;Lundberg et al, 2018;Spolander et al, 2014;Strier & Bershtling, 2016). This causes confusion for service users as to the objective of social welfare and public health regimes; that is, whether services are truly user-centred or otherwise, leading to conditions that stir collective action among marginalised groups.…”

Section: Neoliberalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marginalised groups protest against social welfare and public health: conceptualising the challenge for social workers

Aaslund

Chear

2020

European Journal of Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As neoliberalisation and other global disruptions change the understanding of human rights and social justice for social workers, how are protests organised by marginalised groups against social welfare and public health regimes understood and participated, or even resisted, by social workers? Although there is a vast literature on protest and community organising in the social work tradition, there is less exploration of marginalised groups organising against the systems in which social workers are employed, thereby leading to dilemmas for social workers. Hence, more knowledge is necessary about social workers' capability to respond to such protests. Using collective action and social movement theories, this paper introduces a conceptual framework in order to identify key factors and variables when marginalised groups organise against social welfare and public health regimes and social workers are involved. The conceptual framework concerns social workers' value negotiation of human rights and social justice principles, collective action framing, ethical decision-making, and ultimately, the thought process behind a social worker's response to collective actions against social welfare and public health regimes. SAMMENDRAG Nyliberalisme og andre globale utfordringer endrer forståelsen av menneskerettigheter og sosial rettferdighet for sosialarbeidere. Hvordan blir protest fra marginaliserte grupper mot velferds-eller folkehelseregimer forstått og deltatt i-eller også motarbeidet-av sosialarbeidere? Tross omfattende litteratur om protest og samfunnsarbeid i sosialt arbeid, er marginaliserte grupper som organiserer seg mot systemene sosialarbeidere er ansatt iog dilemmaene dette fører til for sosialarbeiderelite utforsket. Derfor er det behov for mer kunnskap om sosialarbeideres muligheter til å svare på slike protester. Artikkelen bygger på teorier om sosiale bevegelser og kollektiv handling, og introduserer et begrepsmessig rammeverk for å identifisere sentrale faktorer

show abstract

“…In Sweden, as in most Western welfare states, user involvement has been on the policy agenda for more than 30 years [18][19][20], and the phenomenon has changed over time. For example, contemporary user involvement is increasingly individualised [21] and influenced by market logic [22]. Using the commodification of lived experience as an example, this article explores how these trends are expressed in practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Market of Lived Experience—User Involvement and the Commodification of Personal Experiences of Mental Illness

Eriksson

2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Working actively to engage service users in participatory practices is both a policy expectation and a moral imperative for mental health social workers in contemporary Western mental health care. Recent research suggests that such practices of service user involvement are becoming increasingly individualised and driven by market logic. Based on an ethnographic study within a Swedish public psychiatric organisation, this article applies the concept of commodification to examine this trend. By showing how the practice of user involvement takes the form of a market where personal narratives and experiences of mental health problems are bought and sold as commodities, the analysis illuminates how market logic permeates the everyday practice of user involvement. One consequence of this commodification is that user organisations, as well as individual service users, are restricted in their role as independent actors pursuing their own agenda, and instead increasingly act on behalf of the public and as providers of personal experiences. While it is vital that service user perspectives are heard and recognised within mental health services, mental health social workers need to be aware of the risks of commodifying lived experience. When attention is directed to individual experiences and narratives, there is a risk that opportunities to advocate on behalf of the user collective as a whole and speak from a more principled and socio-political standpoint are lost. In addition, the commodification of personal experience tends to rationalise and privilege user narratives that conform to the dominant institutional logic of the mental health organisation, while excluding more uncomfortable and challenging voices, thereby undermining the ability of service users to raise critical issues that do not align with the interests of the mental health organisation.

show abstract

Neoliberal reframing of user representation in Norway

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

Marginalised groups protest against social welfare and public health: conceptualising the challenge for social workers

A Market of Lived Experience—User Involvement and the Commodification of Personal Experiences of Mental Illness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About